Muse frontman Matt Bellamy has looked back on the ’00s guitar rock scene, while recalling his recent run-ins with Jack White and Albert Hammond Jr.
Bellamy recently spoke to NME about the space rock trio’s 10th studio album, ‘The Wow!’ Signal’, which was released last Friday (June 26).
At one point in the chat, it was put to the musician that Muse were perhaps outsiders when they first burst onto the scene with music in the late ’90s, before enjoying huge success in the ’00s.
“There were three things going on back then: the end of Britpop, nu-metal in America, and then the new exciting thing was The Strokes, The White Stripes, that retro rock ‘n’ roll thing,” Bellamy remembered of that era.
“We didn’t fit in with any of those things – and that, in hindsight, was a blessing really.”
He continued: “The fact that we somehow found an audience without being part of a trend is amazing, and I think that’s why we’re still here. We are the definition of alternative, and I’m very, very happy about that.
“We’ve never been in fashion enough that when the limelight moves away from you, you’re just finished.”
The frontman then spoke about his time at this year’s Coachella, where he crossed paths with two other musicians from big ’00s bands. Bellamy was on site at the California festival for a surprise appearance during Anyma’s set.
“I was at Coachella the other week and I bumped into Jack White and Albert [Hammond Jr] from The Strokes,” he told NME, adding that he was somewhat surprised the three of them were still going strong in 2026.
“I was just backstage chatting to them and I went, ‘Fuck, we’re still here!’” Bellamy said. “We were like, ‘We’re the guitarists from the 2000s! We did it!’ It was so cool. Maybe there was a bit of a scene back then, but it was defined by being a little bit alternative to the mainstream.”
Bellamy reiterated to NME that he was “very glad we didn’t fit in” during Muse’s earlier days.
When asked if he had talked about forming “a crazy modern shredding version of the Travelling Wilburys” with White and Hammond Jr, the singer responded: “Ha! No, because they would embarrass me with how good they are!”
Replying to whether White could “outshred” him on guitar, Bellamy admitted: “I think so. He’s a real lead guitarist. In every song, he’s doing pretty busy solos. Solos were something I was trying to push down a little bit.
“I feel like when we first came up, the guitar solo was already an embarrassing thing to do. If anything, I would say that Jack White brought it back. I’m a singer as well, so I’ve never been totally driven by being technical on the guitar.”
He concluded: “There might be a couple of things that I can do, but if it comes to blues then he’s going to kill me!”
Bellamy shared a photo of himself with White and Hammond Jr at Coachella on Instagram. Check out the post above.
Elsewhere in his interview with NME, Bellamy revealed some ambitious plans for Muse’s 2026 UK and European arena tour, telling us: “We’re trying to build a spaceship – as you do.
“The quote came in and it’s more expensive than some of these houses [in Primrose Hill], and that’s saying something around here.”
Bellamy also opened up about how ‘The Wow! Signal’ sees him confront his inner turmoil after a period of “personal struggles”. He spoke about the words of wisdom he got from Coldplay’s Chris Martin and The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, too, as well as how he believes Muse have still “got another good 10 years left in us”. Read the conversation in full here.
Following on from their North American tour with Bloc Party and more this summer, Muse’s forthcoming UK leg will kick off with two shows at Manchester’s Co-op Live on November 12 and 13. The trio are then scheduled to play two huge concerts at The O2 in London on November 15 and 16. Find any remaining tickets here.
Muse launched their new era with an intimate gig at Brixton Academy in April. Here, they debuted the song ‘Cryogen’ – which has since been released as a single – and gave lead track ‘Be With You’ its live debut.
In a four-star review, NME hailed ‘The Wow! Signal’ as Muse’s “best album in 20 years”, calling it “undoubtedly their most consistent and satisfying album since ‘Black Holes & Revelations’“.